Today we’d like to introduce you to Valeria Gonzalez.
Hi Valeria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I can’t remember my life without baking in it. When I was younger my mom used to bake and decorate cakes for friends and family or bake just for fun and I loved helping her. By the age of 7 or 8, I didn’t want to play with barbies all I wanted to do was bake with my easy-baked oven that I had begged for. My love for baking only grew more when baking competition shows were on TV. I wanted to be just like the people on TV that were competing and had their own business. In the 6th grade, my teacher had asked us to write a letter to ourselves so we can read it after we graduated high school and in 2021, I was able to tell 6th grade me that I had a business just like she wanted. I had no intentions of starting a baking business once I got older, I thought life had other plans for me. In 2020 on Mother’s Day I gifted my mom a cookie cake -which is what my business is known for now- that spelled out “MOM”. I had posted on social media thinking nothing of it, but many friends thought it was cute. So that same month I made a few small cookie cakes as gifts and another for me and my mom’s birthday, and shortly after in June of 2020 I made my first sale and I have yet to stop making cakes since. Although I loved my business the most logical choice was to blindly go to college after graduating high school and I was so miserable but it was what everyone was doing at the time so it seemed like it was supposed to do. But by December of 2021, I decided that I would not be returning next semester to my community college and that in January 2022 I would join culinary school for pastry and I could not be happier.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting this business was probably one of the most difficult yet rewarding things I’ve ever done. Although I was very lucky to have lots of people interested in supporting my business as soon as I opened, I quickly realized I knew nothing about running a business. Not knowing how to take inventory, how to properly manage money, and just starting without a plan for the business made it hard to prioritize which to learn first. Something else I struggled with realizing that not every month was going to be full of sales and that was rough. Having to deal with those harsh growing pains was the price to pay for reaching the goals I had set. It’s a big shift in mentality when being a business owner, you sometimes realize that you can’t think or live the same way you used to if you want to succeed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The main goal I’ve always had when making cakes and desserts is to make sure whoever was receiving what I created felt special. I want people to know that every last detail has so much thought put into it, from looks and aesthetic down to quality ingredients. These desserts were made by someone who has so much love and passion for what she does. I’m so proud of this business I’ve created because I’ve been able to help so many people who are just starting out and to be able to give back everything my business has given me.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’ve always found it best to surround myself with people who are running their business how I want to run mine. I’ve also found that reaching out to your local small businesses and becoming friends is so beneficial because chances are you are all going through the same thing and they become being a huge support system.
Contact Info:
- Email: dolcezzabyvaleria@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dolcezzabyvaleria/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc0FSsdG8mCH4YuBG910FCA
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdVbqLyd/.
